Available in several colors, including grey, black, white, and transparent, Liquitex Professional Acrylic Gesso serves an essential purpose in the painting studio. Use the color of your choice to create a primer layer between your raw substrate, like canvas or wood, and your painting.

This step isn't just for looks (although the white can brighten colors, and the black makes metallics shine). It also prevents short-term problems with paint application and long-term problems with conservation. The isolation layer between paint and surface keeps your work from absorbing into the surface, which can damage both the paint film and the substrate.

With a squeezable, soft-body consistency and a matte, textured finish when dry, Liquitex Professional Gesso is a perfect way to start any painting.

Our recommended technique for all gessos: apply three thin coats in alternating directions (paint along the longest side, then across the short side, then the long way again) for perfect gesso texture.

8 ounces (237 mL). Squeezable flip-top bottle. Made in France.

ABOUT LIQUITEX

Founded in Cincinnati in 1955, Liquitex was the first company to bring acrylic paints to the fine-art market. Along the way, the chemists and designers at Liquitex have created lots of important products that we now take for granted — for example, they formulated the first water-based acrylic gesso. (In the early 20th century, oil-based primers were much more common.)

Since 2000, Liquitex has been part of the Colart Group, along with Winsor & Newton and several other important manufacturing brands. Like Winsor paints (which were originally from the U.K.), most Liquitex products today are made at Colart's paint factory in France.